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British Heavyweight Hopeful Joe Joyce is on the Fast Track to Fame and Fortune

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Joe Joyce

Joe Joyce continues his fast rise up the heavyweight ladder on Feb. 23 when he takes on Bermane Stiverne at London’s 02 Arena on a card headlined by the match between James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr. Much ado is being made of the fact that Joyce is meeting a former world heavyweight title-holder in only his eighth pro bout, but Joyce 7-0 (7 KOs) is far more experienced than his pro record suggests and he should have little difficulty turning away Stiverne (25-3-1, 21 KOs) who turned 40 in November and has had only one fight in the last 39 months.

Stiverne, born in Haiti, the youngest of 14 children, was raised in Miami and Montreal and has spent the better part of the last 20 years in Las Vegas. He won the WBC version of the world heavyweight title in May of 2014 with a sixth round stoppage of tough but limited Chris Arreola, a fighter he had previously out-pointed. He lost the belt in his first defense to Deontay Wilder who won a wide decision in a ho-hum fight.

Stiverne was once known for being the only man to go the distance with Wilder (a distinction he now shares with Tyson Fury). But nowadays, the image that most people have of him is derived from his second encounter with Wilder who packed him off to dreamland in the opening stanza where he reposed with his legs tucked awkwardly beneath him and his head resting on a lower strand of rope. The snapshot of him in dreamland went viral and will shadow him until the end of his days.

If this is the overriding and undying image of him, that’s a cheap shot, but as heavyweight champions go he ranks near the far lower end of the totem pole.

Joe Joyce, who is of Scotch-Irish and Nigerian descent and holds a degree in fine arts from Middlesex University, represented Great Britain in the 2016 Rio Olympics where he won a silver medal in the super-heavyweight division. In the finals he lost a split decision to Tony Yoka of France. Consistent with the history of boxing in the Olympics, the decision was controversial.

Joyce was a highly decorated amateur before the Rio games. Moreover, he had 13 bouts under the rubric of the World Series of Boxing.

The World Series of Boxing, now in its ninth season (although its future is murky), was the brainchild of Taiwanese architect Wu Ching-Kuo who assumed the presidency of AIBA, the international governing body of amateur boxing, in 2006 and held that post until he was forced out in November of 2017. The WSB is team competition. The various national teams are permitted to recruit boxers from other countries with the result that the best amateur boxers in the world invariably gravitate to the WSB which was designed to provide a bridge between the amateur and professional levels.

Joe Joyce compiled a 12-1 mark in the World Series of Boxing where all bouts are scheduled for five rounds. His lone defeat came at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in 2013.

When Joyce turned pro, he was already 32 years old (he turned 33 in September). His co-promoters David Haye and Richard Schaefer had no alternative but to put him on a fast track. His very first pro fight, against flabby but durable Ian Lewison, was scheduled for 10 rounds. Joyce took him out in the eighth, but not before eating several hard right hooks.

The renowned trainer Ismael Salas, the former head coach of the Cuban and Thai national teams (and one of David Haye’s former trainers) was brought in to tighten his defense with salutary results. Salas also improved Joyce’s knockout power. In his six subsequent fights, Joyce answered the bell for only 11 rounds.

With Salas now living in semi-retirement in Doha, Qatar, Joyce was in need of a new trainer. He found it while serving as Tyson Fury’s sparring partner at Abel Sanchez’s compound in Big Bear, California. Sanchez and Joyce will be a team going forward.

Joyce, who stands six-foot-six and customarily carries about 260 pounds, has vaulted ahead of England’s other rising heavyweight contenders, Nathan Gorman (15-0, 11 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (9-0, 8 KOs), as an object of curiosity. Dubois, Frank Warren’s 21-year-old wunderkind, has a date with Romania’s Razvan Cojanu on March 8. Cojanu is a former world title challenger but will be easy meat for Dubois.

While Bermane Stiverne has scant chance of upsetting Joe Joyce, the pre-fight posturing should steal the spotlight from the main event. That’s because Stiverne is promoted by Don King who was in fine fettle when the fight was announced. Stiverne, bloviated the indefatigable 87-year-old King, is “retooled, resuscitated, renewed, rejuvenated and recommitted…God save the Queen but heaven help Joe Joyce.”

That’s vintage Don King who still has no peers as the ringmaster at the circus.

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his least three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, delivered the coup-de-gras, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is the winner of the Feb. 2 match between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa/Fulton have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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